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English High School Headmaster Sito Narcisse announced this week that he will not be returning to the school next fall. Narcisse is leaving English, located on McBride Street, because he was offered a “leadership position in a school district outside Massachusetts,” Boston Public Schools (BPS) spokesperson Lee Maguire told the Gazette. Narcisse was not...

JACKSON SQ.—Gail’s Café and Grille, a new restaurant at 268 Centre St., opened late last month. The restaurant serves a wide variety of food, from fish to rotisserie barbecue to baked and deli-style goods. It is being managed by Bill Jordan, a Jamaica Plain resident who previously managed Hyde Square’s former Hi-Lo grocery store,...

A moving and storage company will give First Baptist Church’s historic organ a free home for as long it takes for the church to raise funds and install it. Mark Silverman of Westborough’s Mark’s Moving & Storage also donated a free semi truck to move the gigantic organ from its longtime space in a...

CENTRAL JP—First Baptist Church is looking for groups to share its still-unfinished sanctuary space in the hopes of one day worshipping there itself. The 633 Centre St. church, which is still rebuilding from a 2005 fire, last week issued a request for proposals from community groups to use the roughly 6,400 square feet of...

Adding to the controversial Boston Public School (BPS) school-move plan process, city councilors have expressed concerns about BPS commitment to keeping the new Margarita Muñiz Academy at the former Agassiz School on Child Street in JP. As part of the BPS plan, the Mission Hill K-8 is slated to move into the now-empty Agassiz...

The Arborway between the Casey Overpass and Murray Circle could see an improved crosswalk and better woodlands if the local Arborway Coalition can raise enough funds for a state matching grant. The group aims to improve the Arnold Arboretum crosswalk across the Arborway. And it wants to make further improvements to the wooded hillside...

About 580 Jamaica Plain residents from at least 29 community groups swept streets and picked up litter as part of the Boston Shines citywide cleanup event on April 28. “JP residents were up bright and early Saturday morning, making a difference one trash bag at a time,” said Jullianne Doherty, the JP coordinator for...

HYDE SQ.—The academic study of Whole Foods Market’s local impact will focus on the Latino community and gentrification. The study is being called “Gentrification and Representation: Hi-Lo, Whole Foods and Latinos in Jamaica Plain,” according to Pablo Goldbarg, a spokesperson for the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and...

Nearly a year after its last executive director resigned amid allegations of $20,000 in missing funds, Hyde/Jackson Square Main Street (HJSMS) has a new executive director. Interim Executive Director Katie Reed will be working on a “very part-time basis,” she said in an email to the Gazette last month. She will also be involved...

The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council (JPNC) narrowly voted to deny Whole Foods a license to set up inside and outside seating during its meeting April 24. The council’s vote is not binding on Whole Foods Market’s effort to add 38 seats—22 inside and 16 outside—to its 413 Centre St. location. The company can still...

Two Jamaica Plain residents, not finding a dance night that plays the music they like and welcomes queers, are bringing the punk ethos to dance nights: just do it yourself. Bruce Derfler (“Taffy Vicious”) and Michael Flowers (“Mikey Rotten”) saw something missing from the Boston nightlife—a punk night that was also a welcoming environment...

The developer hoping to build up to 200 apartments at 105A S. Huntington Ave. owed the city $11,000 in unpaid fines until last week. Anthony Nader, who has yet to file his plan with the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) for 190 to 200 luxury apartments at 105A S. Huntington Ave., paid off the $10,915...

EGLESTON SQ.—More than 20 pounds of cocaine was found in a secret compartment in a Roslindale man’s minivan during a traffic stop on School Street on April 30, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Elvyn Rafael Garcia, 31, is facing charges of drug trafficking, drug violations in a school zone, and various...

JACKSON SQ.—Local developer Mordechai Levin is planning on turning the property at 41 Amory St. into an 84-vehicle parking lot. “To be honest with you, much of Jamaica Plain needs more parking. Much of the city needs more parking. It’s an old city,” said Levin. The site was previously used for “wrecking, dismantling and...

By Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Special to the Gazette One of the best things about Roslindale is how familiar it feels when you’re walking through Roslindale Village or driving down Washington Street. I don’t need to tell you that generations of families call this neighborhood home. Children play ball at Fallon Field, where their...

El Chavo Mexican Products will be named Roslindale’s 2011 Business of the Year at an annual Boston Main Streets awards ceremony to be held May 17. Roslindale Farmer’s Market co-chair Jaime Pullen will be named the neighborhood’s volunteer of the year at the same ceremony. El Chavo, a Mexican specialty store at 4254 Washington...

Roslindale has a train network that would make U.S. Vice President and Amtrak enthusiast Joe Biden jealous—if Biden were one-and-a-half inches tall. The Bay State Model Railroad Museum is not really a museum. It’s a club, open to new members, that gives members the space to create the train model of their dreams. “We’re...

U.S. Sen. Scott Brown toured Roslindale Village April 27 to meet with local residents, taking photographs with many of them and signing autographs for others. The senator made many stops along the way, including the Blue Star Restaurant, the Fornax Bread Company and Tony’s Market. Tony DeBenedictis, owner of Tony’s Market, made sure Brown...